rAge 2010 announced

[Azimuth]

The funny thing is it seems more and more people are attending
So despite all the negativity tons of people are loving it.

I miss the Anime screenings they used to have. Or have I not been seeing them?

I'm quite sure there was an anime theatre thing going on last year. I can't say with absolute certainty, however, since I'm. Totally. Not. Into. That. Scene. At. All.

 

[Maplassie]

I have a saying.
Anime is for people that like Anime!

 

[tehNihilist]

Haha, well I seem to always miss it the last few times I have gone. Will check again this time proper-like. Thanks for the heads up!

Deciding which day to go depends on the person. Saturday is usually the big day, but Sunday is also awesome. Both days can be very crowded, so if you want to avoid crowds Friday can be great. Not sure which day I will go, depends on some buddies plans.

 

[Xero]

Yup there was an anime theatre last year, not run by Animeworx though
I recall pointing and laughing at the Cosplay people, yes I know I'm a bad person

 

[Tank]

i've been at Rage '07, '08 and '09

there was definately a degredation in it.

but that said, will try to go again this year.

finances permitting

 

[Strifehart]

I miss the Anime screenings they used to have. Or have I not been seeing them?

AWX have pulled out of the exhibition a number of years back primarily due to the fact that the organizers of RAGE allow certain exhibitors (UNCUT) to sell their pirated crap on the floor.

 

[shadowfox]

Weren't they there last year though - I seem to recall seeing pics of the AWX stand.

Deciding which day to go depends on the person. Saturday is usually the big day, but Sunday is also awesome. Both days can be very crowded, so if you want to avoid crowds Friday can be great. Not sure which day I will go, depends on some buddies plans.

I'm buying the weekend ticket - since it's only R30 more than the daily anyways. But I'll definitely be there on the Friday.

I recall pointing and laughing at the Cosplay people, yes I know I'm a bad person

And that's the sort of thing that stops people from doing it and means we'll always be behind the curve compared to the rest of the world. Takes a bit of guts to dress up and display your passion for something like that.

Hey, do you remember going to school and having people point and laugh because you were a bit of a geek/nerd? Thought not.

 

[Toxin]

R350 a ticket! Damn, wasn't it R250 last year? And the year before that it was R240? What's with the big jump this year? I'll still be going tho. Haven't missed a rAge since I started going in 2004 before it even had an expo.

 

[weakest_link]

im amazed at the religious comments raised when halaal food is brought into the picture ... really pathetic! rage claims or is one of the biggest expo in SA and SA consist of more that 1 religion! not all gamers are christian, rage is hosting one of the biggest expo's in SA so they can at least see to it that the dome can make excepts relating to food ok!

ffs evens the food and wine expo/thing had halaal food.

 

[DenSweeP]

I'm not saying rAge is all bad, it's just not exciting enough. There is no pizazz, no massive drawcards or anything that really makes me go, holy crap, that's awesome. It needs a showstopper.

This blase attitude might be as a result that we are getting more used to these kind of things and getting more regular exposure to cool releases via the web and youtube etc. Now this is obviously not something the organisers can prevent, but I just wish they would then try and find some way of being a step or three ahead to make their expo awesome.

As to the stands and stalls and list of exhibitors, they are not terrible, but again, there doesn't seem to be too much effort from their side. I know we are only in SA and blah blah blah, but why should that be an excuse? You see photos and clips from international expos and those venues look AMAZING. Yes, they probably have bigger budgets, but so what? Why can't EA spend at least half here than what they did at E3?

I'm hoping that after the SWC, international developers might see that SA isn't all doom and gloom and might maybe make a better effort? And maybe the organisers can step in here and approach these guys and work out something?

As for the pricing of the so-called rAge specials, the vendors can really stop. I know this is not entirely the fault of the organisers and that the vendors also need to re-coup their money spent on the stand. I realise renting the dome can't be cheap and thus the pricing per square isn't cheap, but this makes it impossible for vendors to really offer damn good specials.

On another note, is there still only that one entrance used to enter for the LAN? Because that is really a pain in the ass waiting out there to book in. Why not use another entrance for the LAN? If this isn't possible, then let people know why. Another thing is why can people not bring in a sleeping bag and a pillow? Where and how else must you sleep?

 

[DenSweeP]

im amazed at the religious comments raised when halaal food is brought into the picture ... really pathetic! rage claims or is one of the biggest expo in SA and SA consist of more that 1 religion! not all gamers are christian, rage is hosting one of the biggest expo's in SA so they can at least see to it that the dome can make excepts relating to food ok!

ffs evens the food and wine expo/thing had halaal food.

The snag is that the EXPO organisers have no say over the food and drink that is available in the building. I've seen it before with other events held there as well. The Dome management is responsible for all food and drinks, so you should take it up with them unfortunately. Although I'm not restricted in the manner you are by what I'm allowed to eat and drink, I do sympathise with you. But, for what it is worth, the obvious issue aside, maybe it's a blessing in disguise! The food in there is utterly horrible and stupidly expensive. Popping across the road to the mall is maybe a better alternative in any case.

 

[Strifehart]

im amazed at the religious comments raised when halaal food is brought into the picture ... really pathetic! rage claims or is one of the biggest expo in SA and SA consist of more that 1 religion! not all gamers are christian, rage is hosting one of the biggest expo's in SA so they can at least see to it that the dome can make excepts relating to food ok!

ffs evens the food and wine expo/thing had halaal food.

I think you're overreacting.

That out of the way, it's not like rAge is "catering" for christians. It's just the fact that there aren't "restrictions" in the religion (as far as I know anyway) with regards to what you may or may not eat.

 

[shadowfox]

I'm not saying rAge is all bad, it's just not exciting enough. There is no pizazz, no massive drawcards or anything that really makes me go, holy crap, that's awesome. It needs a showstopper.

This blase attitude might be as a result that we are getting more used to these kind of things and getting more regular exposure to cool releases via the web and youtube etc. Now this is obviously not something the organisers can prevent, but I just wish they would then try and find some way of being a step or three ahead to make their expo awesome.

As to the stands and stalls and list of exhibitors, they are not terrible, but again, there doesn't seem to be too much effort from their side. I know we are only in SA and blah blah blah, but why should that be an excuse? You see photos and clips from international expos and those venues look AMAZING. Yes, they probably have bigger budgets, but so what? Why can't EA spend at least half here than what they did at E3?

Good luck getting EA convinced of that. South Africa just isn't enough of a market for them to justify the spend. Ass far as most of the international publishing houses are concerned SA is on the ass-end of nowhere. How many of them actually have a presence in the country (and by this I mean local offices, not just some distributor).

Unfortunately we're stuck with the local stuff for the time being.

I'm hoping that after the SWC, international developers might see that SA isn't all doom and gloom and might maybe make a better effort? And maybe the organisers can step in here and approach these guys and work out something?

See my point above. The organisers will have to prove that there is something in it for them past the expense and effort of setting up stands.

As for the pricing of the so-called rAge specials, the vendors can really stop. I know this is not entirely the fault of the organisers and that the vendors also need to re-coup their money spent on the stand. I realise renting the dome can't be cheap and thus the pricing per square isn't cheap, but this makes it impossible for vendors to really offer damn good specials.

An issue for Dome management perhaps?

 

[weakest_link]

so rage has absolutely no say in the food stalls including the ones instead the expo itself? i know anat was one of the stores actually inside the expo ...

oh the mall across the road didnt provide many options for food as well ... or at least from my view.

im not saying rage is only catering for christians i was just emphasizing that point due to people comment about religion after i mention a drawback of rage last year.

restrictions of food relating to religion of which is permissible and not is a whole new topic on its own ...

i just what to point out that for me as a follower of the islamic faith, food options was narrowed down to chips, anat's food or go to the mall's restaurant and hope they dont screw you over by adding alcohol to the meal ordered that doesnt have unhalaal meat in it.

 

[Tinman]

Why can't EA spend at least half here than what they did at E3?

Honestly, I don't think EA SA's entire annual marketing budget would cover half of what they poured into E3 last month.

@ Weakestlink, have you emailed NAG about this? If enough people make noise, I'm sure they will at least put it forward to the Dome peeps.

 

[Azimuth]

im amazed at the religious comments raised when halaal food is brought into the picture ... really pathetic! rage claims or is one of the biggest expo in SA and SA consist of more that 1 religion! not all gamers are christian, rage is hosting one of the biggest expo's in SA so they can at least see to it that the dome can make excepts relating to food ok!

ffs evens the food and wine expo/thing had halaal food.

What the fuck are you on about? Nobody even responded to your previous post. Persecuted much?

If you'd actually bothered reading any of the posts in this thread, you'd know that the Dome has policies regarding third party food vendors.

 

[DenSweeP]

so rage has absolutely no say in the food stalls including the ones instead the expo itself? i know anat was one of the stores actually inside the expo ...

oh the mall across the road didnt provide many options for food as well ... or at least from my view.

As far as I know and understand, they have zero say. It's part and parcel of the Dome. The only other real option here would be pack your own lunch/dinner. It's harsh, but there isn't much to do or say unfortunately.

Shadowfox, I understand that the big boys won't spend money here, but that doesn't mean I must then simply accept and like it. The simple fact is that it makes that rAge isn't nearly as exciting as it could be.

For instance, just because Formula 1 won't come to SA, now we must be satisfied with okes from the East Rand/Pta West/Goodwood who whilst entertaining, are not F1 class.

I'm not saying the local effort for rAge is poor or weak, it's just not in the AAA category.

 

[Phatso]

DenSweep, as you mentioned stench earlier, this is probably why they are trying to prevent people sleeping inside the dome.

In my opinion, you should stay elsewhere for the night. if you wish to game all night, go for it. But sleeping inside the LAN area is what causes the unhygenic-ness. This is why, months before rAge, you see clans and teams booking B&B's. If that's not an option I am sure a clan-mate can provide a couch for one to crash on. Or you can stay at home if you leave near-ish. If none of these is an option, well... You can't really expect them to cordon off a designated "sleep" area.

Also, unless the event grows in popularity, we will never see it scaling with E3. If you don't support it, it will never grow.

I don't find any fault with the event itself. I have had nothing but epic weekends for the past 5 years (see my earlier post about it). But it REALLY can't be as bad as some people make it out to be...

 

[shadowfox]

Shadowfox, I understand that the big boys won't spend money here, but that doesn't mean I must then simply accept and like it. The simple fact is that it makes that rAge isn't nearly as exciting as it could be.

For instance, just because Formula 1 won't come to SA, now we must be satisfied with okes from the East Rand/Pta West/Goodwood who whilst entertaining, are not F1 class.

I'm not saying the local effort for rAge is poor or weak, it's just not in the AAA category.

That just gets back to the point I was making - I'm not arguing with you or downplaying what you're saying, so forgive me if I came across like that.

You're right - rAge isn't triple A - it never will be unless they get the support from the people this expo is being put in place for. Gamers, tech geeks, anime junkies and so forth. If we can prove the market is here - then maybe we can persuade the powers that be that they should try spending a bit of cash here. The people who need to make rAge exciting are less the organisers and more the attendees.

As for F1 - we had it here - and they left again. No idea why - but I venture a guess that the same principles apply.

 

[DenSweeP]

Much as I dislike the little snot nosed brats, what about those too young to book B and B's etc? Or don't have a car to crash in?

The hygiene thing is miff. I really think tho that someone should approach the Virgin Gym across the road about a deal for Lanners to use the shower facilities at a minimal cost or something. Just a thought.